Injustice. A costly suspension. Injuries. Erling Haaland. The schedule. Arsenal had seen the obstacles looming before them, and they knew what everyone was thinking: aspiring champions find ways to deal with them. To Mikel Arteta’s delight, Arsenal dealt with them.

After dropping points against Brighton, the draw marked by Declan Rice’s controversial red card and the loss of Martin Ødegaard injured in an international match, it was a day for a makeshift line-up to dig deep and show their collective resolve.

It was characterised by the tenacity of the centre-backs, Gabriel Magalhães and William Saliba; they led an intimidating back line, Arsenal routinely putting men around the ball and suffocating a Tottenham team that started strongly but ran out of ideas towards the end.

Manchester City had won again on Saturday, with Haaland scoring the goals against Brentford. But how did Arsenal respond? The celebrations were long and loud after the game, following what was a third straight win in the backyard of their biggest rivals.

The decisive moment had familiar edges. Two of Arsenal’s goals in last season’s 3-2 win came from corners, part of a Premier League high of 22 from set pieces. And so when Bukayo Saka conceded a second-half corner, there was a sickening sense of déjà vu for Tottenham. Guglielmo Vicario was boxed in, Arsenal’s physicality was emphasised again and there was Gabriel to fire home a header. Victory was the perfect start to a difficult week for Arsenal. After a Champions League trip to Atalanta on Thursday, they travel to City on Sunday.

For Spurs, there was nothing but frustration. Ange Postecoglou is not a man for compromise. Everyone knew how the Spurs manager would try to play and his starting XI reinforced that message, James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski in attacking midfield roles, looking to provide a push behind the front three. With Yves Bissouma injured, it was Rodrigo Bentancur at No. 6. His team just couldn’t deliver.

It was always going to be an afternoon that tested the depth of Arteta’s squad and his move was to pair Jorginho with Thomas Partey in midfield, with Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard as central attackers ahead of them. It was Jorginho’s first action of the season and only the second time he had started a game with Partey. On both previous occasions, Partey had played at right-back.

Arsenal had to learn on the hoof and Spurs were in the mood to ask them questions from the start. It was fast and furious, passions running high in the stands; on the pitch too. The first half flew by, the pace high, some transitions dizzying. The aggro played a big part too. Of course.

Spurs were in a rage when Jurrien Timber collided with Pedro Porro; he appeared to get his boot on top of the ball before rolling into the Spurs full-back and a confrontation between Timber and a rampaging Vicario ensued, leading to a melee. Timber was shown a yellow card for the tackle, which was about right. There wasn’t enough in it for a red card.

Vicario was shown a yellow card for his reaction, one of five warnings issued by Spurs in the first half, including Destiny Udogie on Saka and Micky van de Ven on Trossard.

Spurs almost made an early breakthrough. Kulusevski fired at David Raya after a Son Heung-min pull-back and the former nearly capitalised after an inswinging cross from the right went through a crowd in a crowded area. Raya must have been late to see it, which made the full-length tip-away even more impressive. There was frustration at Spurs as they forced Ben White into a loose pass and Dominic Solanke had a clear shooting opportunity. He didn’t release it quickly enough and Saliba was able to block.

Arsenal steadied. They came back and came agonisingly close to breaking through. Arteta was furious when Gabriel Martinelli curled weakly through to Vicario after being cleared by Trossard on the left inside line, the Spurs keeper having just moments earlier made a fine save on a towering header from Havertz. Martinelli seized the opportunity after a quick burst. Arsenal looked to be able to get behind, their movement sharp.

Amidst the physicality of the pre-half period, there were more flashes of real football. Maddison crossed deep for Dominic Solanke, who fired a header just over the far post. Kulusevski won the ball in a crowd and chipped it to Brennan Johnson, who fired high.

It was possible to follow the match in terms of big challenges won, the home crowd roaring their approval of their players’ efforts, Cristian Romero a clear example of this. But could we have a moment of quality to break the deadlock?

Solanke was overpowered early in the second half when he charged a header; Van de Ven fired another straight at Raya from the ensuing corner. It was from a corner at the other end that Arsenal took the lead. Of course they did.

Arsenal won on a slick counter-attack, sparked by Trossard’s volley and with some good holding from Havertz and a Saka shot that was blocked. As Saka curled into the shot, it was impossible to ignore the mass of bodies surrounding Vicario. He couldn’t reach the ball, which Saka dropped into the perfect area. Gabriel applied some gentle pressure to Romero’s back and when he rose to his feet, everyone knew what was coming.

What did Spurs have left? Very little. Postecoglou swapped Maddison for Timo Werner and moved Son into a more central role, but the die was cast. Arsenal were not to be broken.